Farmer's Wife catch-up

I have not worked on these in quite some time. I know the Farmer's Wife girls took a sabbatical in December and January, but I took a MUCH longer break than that. I don't know why I have 18 of one quilt and 19 of the other. I'll have to rectify that. But anyway, I just recently made 6 more blocks for each, so I'm closer. I think the others have 56 done. Hm. I DO like a challenge. I can catch up.

Top quilt is made with fabrics from It's a Hoot by Momo for Moda. Bottom quilt is made with mostly Whimsy by Fig Tree for Moda with a few assorted scraps from other lines thrown in.

Don't ask me why I decided to make two quilts. I guess I really love the idea of all these different blocks. I've decided that after I finish these quilts (in another year, likely), I'm going to do a Dear Jane quilt. I am making myself wait so I'll actually finish these. Are you a Farmer's Wife? Are you caught up or behind (like me)?

Charmed Whirligig Finish

I really have been finishing a number of items but have just been too busy to blog them. So you're going to see a lot of finishes in the near future and not much process. I am also trying to focus on finishing and not starting new things. I'm sure I've said that before too, but I've been on a little bit of a roll with that.

Two charm packs (plus backing fabric) make the whirligigs. Fabric requirements here. Instructions here.

Fabric is Martinique by 3 Sisters for Moda. I love the soft look that their fabrics lines always give. I'm not a pastel person really, but I just love their lines! I love a good paisley. I am an 80s girl, and we loved us some paisley in that decade. I'm happy to see it coming back around -- and in such beautiful colors too.I stippled this in a coral pattern, which I though was fitting since some of these fabrics have coral on them.

Machine bound again. It really is making things go so quickly that I can't give it up just yet. Maybe if I ever get down to only 10 or 15 projects, I'll consider hand binding again. How are you doing on finishing? Any progress? Amanda Jean is now sponsoring a Finish-it-up Friday Mr. Linky. Finish something this week, and you can link up over on her blog. Then you can go look at what everyone else is finishing and be inspired too! Good luck this week. You can do it!!

Pinwheel Sampler Finished

I did finish this last week, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it, so I'm going to link it. It was for my UFO Challenge. I'm so behind on that now that I'm not even sure what number was supposed to go to which month. But I know I should've finished this a while ago.

This was Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt-Along from last year. Just now finished it, yup. I added a few extra pinwheels, because I wanted it to be a little bit longer.

Scrappy back made from whatever was left. I had found some other FQs on sale at my LQS. The fabrics are Aster Manor by 3 Sisters for Moda. That main brown on the back, however, is from Shangri-La -- also by 3 Sisters for Moda if I'm not mistaken. Loopy meander. I'm in a hurry to finish a bunch, so I'm just using the ol' stand-by to bang these out. Also, I'm machine binding (gasp!). It's so much faster. Did I say that already?

The sunlight makes this harder to see, but I like this block. I wanted to try a different-colored background than just white or cream. This may be too dark, but in some ways I think it makes it more formal.

I love this simple, framed pinwheel. And these colors -- the coralish red with the browns and pinks -- these are my colors. I just love how cozy they feel to me. I tell you, I'm going to finish my UFO challenge by the end of this year -- even though I'm behind and even though I'm moving. I can do it!!! Right? I'll just keep saying that to myself over and over, and then maybe it'll come true.

Soldiering on.

Made with MoMo's Freebirds line.

I feel like all my posts are too similar lately -- one picture and either a bag or a flimsy. But other than the QALs that I couldn't stop myself from joining, I have been trying to finish up older projects. I have made 6 or 7 backs for quilt tops that have been lying around a while. So even though my sidebar number is actually going up, I am making progress towards finishing things.

This is Old Red Barn QAL #6 -- Hexies. I think they're up to #9 or something. I had all these in rows and just had to sew them together. I was thinking initially that it wasn't big enough and that maybe I would add a border. However, in the interest of ever finishing this, I think I'll just keep it as-is. I have some leftover layer cake squares that I can put on the back -- along with perhaps a solid. Sometimes I despair of ever getting my numbers down, but I'm just going to keep at it and hope I get there. In the meantime, I am having fun. I really love the process of quilting, and I focus more on that than the finishing. It's why I have so many WIPs, but it's also why quilting is so relaxing for me. I don't force myself to do something I don't want to do very often. I just set things aside and wait until I'm ready to go back to them. My WIPs are a little overwhelming to me sometimes, but mostly they're not. Maybe I'm loathe to finish them BECAUSE I enjoy the process so much. I don't want it to be over. Or maybe I just get distracted by new things too easily. That's probably the more likely explanation. ;)

Another Whimsy Flimsy.

It's possible that I'm a little loopy from lack of sleep, but the phrase "Whimsy Flimsy" keeps cracking me up. Yeah, I'm funny. I know. ;)

From Amanda Jean's Round and Round QAL last year. I only had the last two rows (well, four if you count the sashing strips) on either end to finish, but I had to put it away for a rest. I just pulled it out this week and finished it up really quickly. I just have to do that sometimes -- put things away while they're daunting. They don't feel so difficult after some time has passed. Now I have to buy something for the backing. I only had a FQ pack, and I've made two quilts from it already. Plus, I'm doing a Farmer's Wife quilt with what's left. Made from Joanna Figueroa's Whimsy line.

Do you remember Elizabeth Hartman's Tokyo Subway Map Quilt-Along? I love the quilt, but I think I was daunted by all the little pieces to cut out. I started cutting with her when the QAL started, but then I took a break. I didn't feel like I had enough of any of the colors to make a varied quilt. Plus, I'm sure I was just working on other things. Anyway, the last few weeks I have been cutting like crazy to finish up the amounts I needed. I still need a few dark blue squares, but there weren't any in this first block. So there, the first block is done.

I increased the size of my squares from 2" cut to 2 1/2" cut. It will be 80" square when finished instead of 60". And I opted not to cut all my white squares individually. I am amazed at how quickly this went together, though. The cutting was daunting, but the piecing is not. I look forward to whipping out a few more of these very soon. Elizabeth's instructions and designs are always so well-thought-out and clear. I love working from her patterns.

I'm joining . . .

I have wanted to make one of these for quite some time. So I'm going to join. Don't judge. Yes, I'll add it to the sidebar. I've been pretty good this year about not starting QALs. And this has been in my brain for a while. I'm so excited!

Birdie Stitches #2

I finished this in February, but I don't think I ever posted it. I made the block for March, but I haven't even drawn it on the muslin yet. And now April's is ready. I'll have to catch up. :/

Dana will be so proud!

For those of you who are familiar with Old Red Barn Co (and really, who isn't?), you will recognize this quilt from Dana's very first quilt-along. And it's finally done. It's on my 2011 UFO Challenge list, but not for this month necessarily. (I'm supposed to do #10, but I got on a binding kick, and now it's done. I'm ahead!) Anyway, it is now washed and crinkly and on my girls' bed. Just in time too, because we've been having very cold (for us) nights (and days) around here.

The blocks are 12" square, so the finished quilt is 72" x 84". It's a mix of mostly Tickled Pink by Robyn Pandolph and Provincial Garden by -- hmm . . . I don't know.

2011 UFO Challenge -- January finishes

So I didn't read the challenge rules very well, apparently, because I didn't pay attention to the fact that there would be a draw for the number. In January we were supposed to do #6 on our list. I just did #1, because I planned these especially for January. I will be on track for the rest of the months. When Judy draws #1, I will do #6. Anyway, here are my two finishes for January, #1 on my list.

1. Plaid pinwheels. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions, but it's on my king-sized bed.

It is definitely larger than it looks in this picture.

2. Amanda Jean's Round 2 Nine-Patch quilt-along. It's approximately twin-sized. Yep, I quilted it in red. It was an experiment. Still deciding how I feel about it.

For February we are to work on #10 on our list. I'd better go see what that is! Good luck with your challenge!

Birdie Stitches

Have you seen Little Miss Shabby's block-of-the-month. I love embroidery, and of course, we all know I love a quilt-along. Since it's only one block per month, I may actually be able to stay caught up. I actually have cut out all the squares and center blocks (although now I'm wishing I had used linen for the embroidery squares).

(Please, overlook my lovely ironing board. It's well-used.) Corey is using Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda in her blocks. I wanted to get some and do mine out of it too, especially since that's what they're using for Blockapalooza (which, yes, I'm going to do that one too). But I'm being good and using my Summer Song up (plus a few other random scraps).

2011 UFO Challenge!

Judy over at Patchwork Times is having a 2011 UFO Challenge, and since I have a (gigantic) number of those (see the sidebar), I thought I'd join in -- see if I can whittle down any of my stack. The idea is to do one (or two) per month so we feel focused and not overwhelmed by our UFOs. Well, at least that's my reason for joining. So here's my list!

1. January -- This is Amanda Jean's nine-patch quilt-along from 2009 -- round 2. I did finish round 1 last year. It's half quilted. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift this year. A little late, so I have to finish it in the first week or so.

Also in January I would like to bind this quilt. I'm not showing you the whole thing, but I would like to point out that it is all quilted and already on my bed. So, yeah, it needs some binding.

2. February -- Elizabeth Hartman's Paintbox quilt-along. I did a LOT of QALs this last year and need to finish them up -- to make room for the other ones I won't be able to stop myself from starting in 2011. :) Know thyself, people. Old Red Barn Co very first QAL -- probably a 2009 quilt also. Just needs binding. I obviously do not like making binding.

3. March -- Pinwheel Sampler from P.S. I Quilt. Rachel finished hers, and she even had a baby this year. What's my excuse?

Also for March I need to bind this quilt. I believe I started it 6 or 7 years ago. It was before we moved into this house, and that was 5 1/2 years ago.

4: April -- ORB QAL #4. This one was so involved and intricate. I finally trimmed all the string squares last week. I'm going to skip the circle cutting so I can finish it sometime before I die. I love the intricate ones, but they sit around too long around here. Not enough stamina I guess.

Also for April I need to bind this one. It's from Cathy's Charmed Whirligig QAL.

5. May -- Also from before we bought this house. This one is from Hopskotch Quilting by Peggy Waltman. (I was trying to link her website, but it must be gone now.) I got a little overambitious about the quilting -- as if the piecing wasn't enough, right?

Also for May I need to finish Amanda Jean's Star QAL. I may have started this in 2008 when I first started blogging. Maybe not till 2009.

6. June -- I bought a half-yard pack of Nicey Jane @ the Dallas Quilt Show earlier this year. This is such an easy pattern -- brick road-ish. WHAT is the deal with me? I get all these quilts to be in rows, and then I just don't want to sew the rows together. Okay. No more self-reproach. That's why I'm doing this -- to overcome my quilting weaknesses. ;)

Also for June is this lovely stacked coins quilt from 2009. I decided it would be gorgeous with some organic line quilting. Now, I'm not wrong about that, but I think the gorgeous factor would be upped if I finished it. Yeah, I'm sure.

7. July -- I made this modified bento box patterned after one that Ashley made. I made the quilt top so fast, and now it has sat around for about a year. I absolutely love it, so I'm hoping to finish and use it. Only one for July, because I was starting to get overwhelmed as I was making this list.

8. August -- I call this The Beautiful Briny (Bedknobs and Broomsticks). I saw one that Nettie made, and I just fell in love with it. Too many girly ones around here, and I have 5 boys. They need it, because they're tired of all the pink flowery quilts.

9. September -- Denim Stars -- also started before we bought the house -- actually to flimsy stage before then. I like it, but I'm a little daunted by the denim. Just gotta finish it.

10. October -- Because of all the applique, this one has taken me a while. I finished the applique earlier this year and then had to set it aside. This is also one that I started way before we moved into the house. The hard part's done, right?

11. November -- This one is just from a bunch of pink scraps from a friend who helped me get into quilting so much. She let me go through her HUGE stash and pick what I wanted. It was a great help at the time -- she did that for me a lot. I didn't have money for fabric then, but I truly loved quilting. Anyway, I made it SO HUGE. It's still pretty big, but I did take a bunch of squares off of it at one point. I made 2 baby quilts with what I removed.

12. December -- I love Judy Martin's quilts. She has such an interesting way of looking at blocks and using colors. I adapted a smaller version of this quilt to make a twin size. I absolutely love it. I made the top in 2 months of working on nothing else for 2 hours a day while my little ones napped. This was also before we bought the house. I think it was maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I didn't have a machine that could quilt until two years ago, so I wasn't able to finish as many of my quilt tops as quickly as I wanted to. Some I just let sit until I could machine quilt them. This one just kept getting pushed to the bottom of the pile, but I LOVE it.

I do hope to finish other quilts throughout the year besides these, but this would be an AMAZING start to chopping down my list. Thanks, Judy, for getting us focused!

Another Mod Sampler Quilt

Here's another quilt from my quilting group when we made Elizabeth Hartman's Mod Sampler Quilt as a group. Kim loves a black background and variegated thread. She always makes such bright, cheery quilts. She inspires me to try new things. One of these days, I am going to make a quilt with a black background, and it will be completely because of her.

Love the orphan butterflies on the back, Kim!

Almost . . .

Where have I been, you might ask. Where haven't I been? I have been on vacation for a month and then back at work putting out fires. Vacation was good. Work -- well, it's work. BUT, while I was on vacation, I was able to work on Amanda Jean's quilt-along. She's done with her top. I'm almost done with mine. I'm not good at keeping up with quilt-alongs (gasp!), but I am close on this one. Very proud.

It's with Fig Tree Quilts' Whimsy line. LOVE it!

In which I make some actual progress . . .

For some reason, blogger won't allow me to move my pictures around once I've uploaded them, so this post has the pictures backwards from how I intended them. Phooey. I'm too lazy to delete and reload them. Do you see my lovely pedicure again? It's three weeks old -- from my brother's wedding. A few chips, but better than usual. Ach! I just looked at it again, and it doesn't even look like a French manicure -- just regular toes. But, I digress.

Amanda Jean just posted her applique, and it made me feel gutsy enough to show mine. You see how she inspires me constantly. This is one I have been working on FOREVER -- although that is true of many of my quilts. Let's just say, though, that I started it before we bought our house five years ago. It could be more like 7 or 8 years old (the quilt -- not the house).

Very traditional pattern and colors -- still needs borders. I found the pattern in a magazine and liked it. Now I feel like it's too matchy-matchy. The blue background was supposed to be one solid piece, but I decided to patch it. I love it that way! I love when the backgrounds are scrappy. Anyway, I still like (but don't love) it. This was before I moved to more modern fabrics and styles. I do like so many of the traditional quilts still, though.

And this is the top for Cathy's Charmed Whirligig quilt-along. It had just been awaiting borders, and I finished them yesterday. Obviously I still have to make the back, quilt it, and bind it, but I am making progress on my goal of 13 -- albeit minor progress. Look, I do what I can. 30 hours a week in my husband's office is cramping my style (not to mention the seven kids). =) Here's hoping I can get in more quilting time on vacation.

Quilting along!

Look at me! I'm caught up to where Amanda Jean is. Well, sort of. I still have a few stacks of strips to cut, but I'm caught up with the sewing. I think I'll take this on vacation with me so I can keep up. I think Jill is quilting along too, so we can do it together. I will be in her neck of the woods for part of my vacation. Are you quilting along? And are you caught up?

Summer plans

Let me have a what, what! for the fact that Amanda Jean is back. Did I mention this before? Anyway, true to form, she's back to inspiring me. She's having another quilt-along. And I'm joining in. Of course. This is what I'm going to use for it.

I am so excited. It's my first Fig Tree fabric purchase, though I have long coveted Joanna's stuff. Anyway, my summer plans -- I am going to try to finish all my quilt-alongs. It's getting ridiculous how many I've started and not finished. So here's the list.

1. Christmas 9-patch from Amanda Jean's One-a-day QAL
2. Elizabeth Hartman's Paintbox QAL
3. Anina's Pinwheel Party
4. Rachel Griffiths' Pinwheel Sampler
5. ORB #1
6. ORB #4
7. ORB hexies by Julie
8. AJ's Star QAL
9. Anina's Geese in the Forest
10. Applewood Farms BOM from last year
11. AJ's new QAL
12. ORB Asterisk QAL
13. Cathy's Whirligig QAL

So now we're in the crazy room where I suggest that I can actually finish all this by the end of the summer (let's say the end of August). And I'm going to be gone all of July. And I have two finished tops from my quilt group that I need to quilt also. But I'm not going to commit to those, because, you know, that would just be too much to finish. I actually think there is no freakin' way I will finish all these by the end of the summer, BUT this will give me a list to focus on. And I definitely need help with focusing. Cross your fingers. If I DO finish all this -- I don't know how I'll reward myself, but let me tell you, it will be AWESOME! What are your summer plans? I hope you finish more than you start! = )

Black Raspberries and Cream

This is another of Elizabeth Hartman's designs. It is the Mod Sampler Quilt-along. I finished my first one last year, and then my quilting group wanted to do it as well. So I quilted along with them and did another version. I need to post theirs as well. Everyone's turned out so different. That's what's so fun about this pattern. Well, I suppose that's really true of most patterns. Same pattern, different fabrics = completely different feel to the quilt.

Her pattern calls for a 5x6 layout of blocks -- making six of each block and saving six to go on the back. I decided once again that I wanted it slightly bigger, so I did eight of each block, thus creating a 6x8 layout. Finished quilt is 62x82-ish. All from scraps laying around my house, but I did try to make each set of six out of the same two fabrics -- some had to be substituted a little.

I had no blocks leftover for the back, but I did have this crazy piece of black and white that is pretty much perfect for this quilt -- and that I really didn't know where else I was going to use it. That pink was yardage I got from my LQS when they had a finish-the-bolt sale last year. It's Santorini by Lila Tueller. Very soft. I must confess that I don't like this one as much as my first one. I think it's just all the colors on the other one. I do like each individual fabric on this quilt though -- very fun and interesting. There are lots of vintage black and white prints (read: very, very old and unidentifiable). It's for my SIL -- well, soon to be SIL. The wedding is on Saturday and it's a wedding gift. I started the quilt not necessarily FOR her, but when it turned up that these are actually her wedding colors, I decided it had to go to her. I have plans for another quilt for my brother. I didn't finish it in time for Jacquie's challenge, but I still have to finish it before I leave the state on Friday.